OICC Florence participates in construction milestone
10 May 2023
From Ashley Snipes
Members of Officer in Charge of Construction Florence attended a “Topping Out” ceremony on May 10, 2023 for project P-728, a new C-12W aircraft maintenance hangar aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River.
Members of Officer in Charge of Construction Florence attended a “Topping Out” ceremony on May 10, 2023 for project P-728, a new C-12W aircraft maintenance hangar aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River.
Contractor of record, Archer Western of The Walsh Group, hosted the event for Navy and Marine Corps representatives to gather at the site and sign the final roof beam before it was placed at the top of the new structure. The tradition of topping out a building goes back hundreds of years, and was a means to bring luck, or ward off evil spirits for the new occupants. The original tradition called for a branch to be tied to the topmost part of the structure, but it changed with time as steel became the dominate material.
“It was great to see everyone gathered for this milestone,” said Navy Capt. James “Jim” Brown, PE, PMP, CEM, commanding officer, OICC Florence. “P-728 was the first project design OICC Florence accepted for the Hurricane Florence Recovery Program, so really, today had extra meaning for all of our team. I look forward to touring the facility next spring as the project reaches completion and becomes a force multiplier for the Marines and Sailors on MCAS New River.”
Brown was joined by Marine Corps Lt. Col William “Upgrade” Oren, MCAS New River Installations and Environmental (I&E) Director, as well as other OICC Florence and Archer Western personnel, who all signed the beam before it was hoisted atop the structure.
The original hangar was constructed in the mid-1950’s and was damaged by extended periods of heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Florence in 2018. The new structure is providing a 44,842-square-foot Type I maintenance hangar for personnel to service the C-12W aircraft. It also includes additional square footage for an attached administrative and operations section, allowing squadron members to be functional within one building, instead of having to go back and forth between multiple buildings
throughout the day.
OICC Florence provides world-class engineering, construction, and acquisition services supporting the Marine Corps’ recovery from Hurricane Florence and deployment of the Joint Strike Fighter, re-establishing the readiness of expeditionary forces for MCIEAST and II Marine Expeditionary Force.